Thursday, January 10, 2008

Police Chief Writes Op-Ed

Westbrook Police Chief William Baker wrote an op-ed in this morning's Portland Press Herald in which he provides "[a]nother view of confrontations with police."In his piece, Chief Baker describes a peaceful resolution to a confrontation Westbrook Police had with a deranged man on January 1 and says that such resolutions are much more common than violent ones. The chief also predicts "all police use of force could be eliminiated in this state if three things happened: If citizens obeyed the law; if people simply submitted when the police tried to take them in to custody; and when weapons, or the threat of weapons, were eliminated from interpersonal conflict." The op-ed can be read in its entirety here.- John C.L. Morgan